d•j•dy•nas•ty (d•j•di•nas•t) n (1996) 1 : a real-time look into the life of a gay man 2 : an undramatized diary for public viewing esp. via the internet

The year without a Mom — November 28, 2016

The last post I posted was the eulogy for my mother, whom I miss deeply every day. They say when someone close to you dies not a day goes by that you don’t miss them, want to talk to them, or somehow feel touched by knowing them. This is true on so many levels and I feel it’s important to share them.

My mother died in October, and shortly after her death, my grandmothers magnolia tree started blooming, in the fall. This is a rare thing I’m told, as well as countless cardinals that now sit on my porch and sing and chirp to me nearly daily, even when I’ve never put food out for them. A lot of people were kind and checked up on me on a near daily basis to the point it became emotionally overwhelming. Faced with being unable to keep the house on my limited income, I turned to Lyft to keep the house.

The house has needed repairs for years, as I can afford it I’ve been doing it. A couple boxes of hardwood floor here, some floor trim there. Eventually it’s all coming together. I can always use more help and I find that by using this blog going forward I’ll be able to have the ad words to help assist my income.

A lot of traumatic events have happened in the past year that make me question my strength every day, but I continue to be the positive Pollyanna that my mother always tried to instill upon me. On what would have been her 60th birthday, numerous people were slaughtered in the Pulse night club shooting in Orlando,FL. I was already filled with emotions as I was spreading her ashes on her birthday on the dog beach in Chicago. As I’m taking this video on one phone I’m getting notifications of Top Hat Eddie was one of the victims.

I took that as a sign from my mother, an outspoken advocate for anyone being ignored or treated badly regardless of race gender or sexual preference, that I needed to use the brains she gave me, and the loud commanding voice my father gave me to influence change, I just wasn’t sure how.

Then a few months later on my fathers 70th birthday Donald J Trump became the next president of the United States. I realized what my voice needed to become. I needed to use my progressive views to get elected for the city council of Joliet. I’m currently collecting petitions until December 11th 2016 and look forward to my readers being my supporters.
Thanks for reading